The Genesis
by TallyFox
Summary: hmmm.... certainly not the best story ever written, I wrote this one sometime last year.


The Genesis: A Sonic The Hedgehog Fanfic

by Ally Webb, AKA Tally~Fox

As you know, all characters are copyright SEGA with the exception of the enchanter kings, Tally Wolfheart, Sylvine, and HC. Plagiarise or steal my work, and I shall send out my robot slaves to destroy you! Bwa Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!

Well, no use wondering about the future before you know all about the past is there? But that's what I did, and that's what they did with Star Wars. But here we are with the past of my character, and who the hell she is.

Other than that, what's to say? Hedgehogs and other Furries will prevail!

Enjoy my little story! Tally~Fox, 16th july 2000.

The Nameless Zone, Mobius year 3227:

Andromedus Wolfheart stalked through the dark corners of the castle, the draft sweeping his robe across the cold stone floor. He gazed at the oak door nervously, willing it to open with good news. Yet he knew this could never happen.

Andromedus was an Enchanter King. They were not royalty as such, but a group of sorcerer lupines and vulpines, who had strong powers in Mobius. It was their job to consult the oracle on matters, for it could only be used by them. Nobody had ever worked out why, it was just so. They were technically forbidden from marrying or having children, usually opting to remain single and devoted to their work. But Andromedus was an exception, and a permitted one at that. when he told the other sorcerers that he had met a woman whom he had fallen in love with, they asked the oracle what his punishment should be. But the prophetic device told them:

"Do not prosecute him. a child shall come of this union, and her destiny is very important, and shall affect this entire planet." 

But the news was not all good. where there is sin, there must always be some form of punishment, and this was not an exception to that. The woman's fate was to die in childbirth. Andromedus had argued, but again the device had told him that her survival would affect the whole planet.

So here he was, pacing the cold hallway outside of the room where the one he loved was dying, and with the poor consolation that it was for the good of Mobius. And why should it be? She had not even come from the planet, but from Earth! the sorcerers occasionally had access to an interplanetary warp, taking them to the similar planet. There he had met the girl, whose name was Flare, and he had taken her back to Mobius with him.

The door slowly swung open, and he was faced by an elderly wolf, the leader of the sorcerers. He put a hand to his chest fur and looked to the ground morosely.

"It's over."

Andromedus followed him into the small surgery. It was dark, and the walls seemed to close in on him. Of course this was probably due to the fact that he had not slept in hours. He looked down at the vixen, who was still only just alive, her body quaking with every breath. 

"Andromedus?" Her soft voice sounded agonised, as if every syllable pained her. He took her paw between his, a last contact before he lost her.

"Yes?"

"You... you must promise me..." She sighed," You must promise me that you'll teach her of both worlds."

Andromedus agreed, and she smiled faintly. Then her eyes closed and her hand went limp, her spirit passing from her body. He turned to the ancient wolf, who looked at him sadly.

"It had to happen." 

The fox nodded, wiping a warm tear from his moist eye. "Where's my child?" He asked.

His elder lifted a small bundle from a 'cradle', a trunk discovered in the basement. A little paw emerged from the soft cotton, and the fingers curled around his. He pulled the material back and gazed at the cub's face. She had orange fur, with longer brown fur, like human hair, on her head. Her toothless mouth gaped open as if smiling, and her large brown eyes gazed up at him in a curious wonder. 

"Flare wanted to call her Tallista." The wolf told him. "Tallista Marina Wolfheart."

Andromedus put the child back in her carriage, as his companion turned back to some work on a pine desk. The girl wriggled out of her blanket, and he gasped.

"Orion! Orion! Take a look at this!" 

Orion, the wolf, came up behind him, and looked at the child critically.

"What is.. Oh my goodness!"

"What's wrong with her?" Andromedus asked in fear. Orion shook his ancient head with a laugh, his grey beard dancing as it swept the ground. He pulled a dusty tome from the shelf, browsing through in urgency.

"Nothing's wrong my boy! What you have here is a kitsune!" 

"A kitsune?"

"Yes," Orion showed him the book. "A kitsune is fox with multiple tails, in this case two. They're very rare, and the birth of such a child is considered an omen for bad."

Andromedus bit his lip with worry. "That can't be good?!" 

Orion chuckled again. "Ah, but an omen for bad that they can help defeat! It's actually rather interesting, as I recently heard from a doctor friend that one of the Prower family is pregnant, and the fetal scans show such a child."

"Two kitsunes? That must be a really bad omen!"

The smile faded from Orion's face. "Yes. I think it proves that the current problem in Mobitropolis may be more serious than we first suspected."

The two stood in silence, contemplating the problem. After a few minutes, however, they were interrupted by the opening of the door.

"Sirs? I've come to look after the child?" A female voice spoke. Orion turned to the vixen at the door and nodded.

"She's in the trunk. Oh, Sylvine?"

"Yes?"

"Get the others. Tell them to prepare the oracle for consultation."

*

Four years later;

A young female voice filled the castle with song, as she skipped through the corridors. At first the Enchanter kings were unsure about bringing up the little girl, but she now brightened things up for them. Mobius was in great peril, as were their own lives, but the child's innocent happiness helped them to forget that.

"Hey, daddy!" She yelled. Andromedus spun around, and the young vixen ran up and hugged him. He picked her up, twirling her through the air.

"Hey, kid. Where've you been?"

"I was in the village. It's real bad down there, everybody's gone!" Her little voice reflected her awe-filled fear. "The bad man's not gonna get us too is he?"

Andromedus looked down at her as he set her back on the ground.

"I hope not Tally." He murmured. The fact was, he didn't think it would be long before robotnik disposed of him and the others, and he was afraid to think of what would happen to his little daughter.

"He won't will he? If he does, you'll beat him up!" He smiled. The girl had nothing but absolute faith in her father, and refused to believe that anything could defeat him. She flounced off into the library where she had left her laptop computer, just as one of her father's flustered colleagues came running up to him.

"Andromedus, we have an urgent problem!" He exclaimed, gasping for breath. The fox turned to him anxiously.

"What is it, Archer?" He glanced around as if expecting to see a horde of swat 'bots bearing down on him. Archer panted, falling to his knees.

"They're here... they've got Orion in the hall..." 

Andromedus helped the other vulpine to his feet, and was about to run off when he paused.

"Wait, what about Tal?" 

"She'll be fine!" 

They sprinted through the dark corridors, until they reached the heavy oak door to the hall. Archer flung it open, and Andromedus leapt back in shock.

He had never in his life seen a place so full with magic. The room pulsated with the force, centred around a swirling vortex of black. Stood in a position so they were safe from it's gravity were a group of metal soldier robots, headed by the housemaid, Sylvine.

"What are you doing there?!" Archer screamed over the noise of the vortex pull. The vixen threw back her head and chuckled like a demon, her raven black hair flying up like snakes on Medusa's head.

"You never guessed, did you?!" She smirked. "I am a cyborg working for Robotnik... and you never even suspected!"

Archer threw a sideways glance at Andromedus. "Your kid always did say there was 'summat screwy' about her."

"SILENCE!!" 

The swirl of the vortex pulled at their robes, as they clutched the door frame for support. The strain made Archer's paws feel raw and weak, but he held on as tight as he could. Sylvine's maniac laughter filled his thoughts, and he began to feel his fingers slip....

Tal was working on her languages on the laptop. Although she was only four years old, she was very smart, and had been reading since she was just over two. 

The library, with it's towering piles of shelves and books, was one of her favourite places in the castle. But her nanny, Sylvine, didn't like her going in there. she thought that Tal was a precocious and irritating little child, and her happy disposition annoyed her even more. 

Typing as fast as she could, which as of yet was rather slow, Tal was almost too absorbed in her work to hear the screams. But she did, and at the exact same instant felt a chill of realisation run up her spine. Something was seriously wrong.

She shutdown the computer and hurriedly put it in her backpack, dashing to the hall. She threw the door open, and was faced by...

Nothing. She wrinkled her nose in confusion and gazed around the room in curiosity. The place was a mess, with the Enchanter King's belongings strewn across the floor everywhere. But there was no sign of anybody.

"Archer? Daddy?" She called. "Orion?"

"Child! It was terrible!" Tally groaned, and turned to face an all too familiar vixen. The raven haired fox drew her close in a cold embrace, and she frowned in distaste.

"The bad man came and took your father away!" Sylvine gasped in an obviously fake shocked tone. "I'll have to take you to stay with one of my friends."

"Oh, so you have some?" Tal asked sweetly, fluttering her sooty eyelashes. The vixen glared, and picked her up.

"Now come along, child. But you'll have to do me a favour."

"Me do you a favour?"

"Yes. And watch your grammar!" She lifted a pair of scissors from the floor, whilst Tal made a sarcastic comment about not having any parents let alone a grandma. Which was pretty good for a four year old. "Now, my friend doesn't like kitsunes, so we'll have to get rid of that nasty extra tail of yours..."

Tal swung out of the way, and backed against the wall. There was no way she was going to let anybody cut her tails off!

"Don't you come near me, or I'll..." She faded out, realising there was no harm she could possibly do to the vixen. Sylvine grinned nastily.

"Or what.. aaargh!" This last part was said as Tal sprung forward to bite her paw. She hopped around, clutching the injured limb and cursing the little cub.

"I promise you, you will suffer for this!" She hissed, punching the little one. Tally collapsed onto the floor, and drifted into the dark void of unconsciousness.

*

The vixen was not at all sure where she was when she came around, but what she did know was that she did not like the face that was staring down at her. She shrieked and recoiled, as the human gazed down at her. He picked her up in a tight grip, as she squirmed to escape. eventually she gave up, realising it was to no avail.

"Don't try and escape me. I won't hurt you!" He smiled. Tal furrowed her brow, knowing instantly that she could not trust this person. For a start, he was a human, and she only knew of one such creature of that description on her planet.

"You're Robotnik!" She exclaimed. The figure shook his head with a laugh.

"Do you honestly think I'm that big?" He asked her. She frowned, then shook her head.

"Well, no... But then who are you?" 

He extended a hand and grabbed her arm. "I am Snively, his nephew. He sent me to fetch you, saying you could be of some use." He looked her up and down. "Although quite what use a toddler could be, I have no idea." 

For the second time that day, Tal lashed out with her fangs, leaving a nasty indentation in the human's hands. he looked down at the blood that soaked his skin, and glared at her.

"Uncle is just going to love you!"

*

Robotnik's feelings for the child were actually quite the contrary. He tried his hardest to persuade her to join him, but she constantly refused. Her father had brought her up to be faithful to Mobius, and had taught her that humans were enemies.

"One day, you will be the first enchanter queen. No human is going to change that." He had once told her, and she had taken this to heart. every day, Robotnik tried to feed her lies in an attempt to win her allegiance, but he had no luck at all.

Tal sat on the table, swinging her legs as she sang. She was seven now, and had been living in Robotropolis for nearly half of her life, but this had yet to break her spirit. She knew that there were Mobians trying to get rid of Robotnik, for she had seen them many times. But none of them knew that she was there, stranded alone in the dark city. She would explore, constantly searching for a friend, but there never was anybody around.

Today, she knew, would be different. Her intuition told her this, and it was never wrong. She slowly crept towards the door, knowing Robotnik would interrogate her.

"And where do you think you're going?" Tal froze in her tracks and tossed her head arrogantly, putting on her 'annoying teenager' voice that made her sound like an extra in Clueless. She knew it irritated him, and having nothing else, that was what she lived for!

"Out, where do you think? Loser." She replied. Behind her, he clenched and unclenched his fists as she slammed the door in his face. Laughing, she began swearing at the door, safe in the knowledge he could not see her, before running off.

She had explored Robotropolis so often that she knew it like the back of her paw now. She had to be careful not to be shot by swat bots, though. For some reason they went absolutely beserk when they saw a kitsune. 

Tal followed her instincts, towards a large warehouse in the north of the derelict city. She knew that whoever it was she was looking for was over there, but she was unsure as to who they were.

She slowly pushed open the cold steel door, realising that whoever she found in here would be the first friend she'd had in years. Sure, Snively had often tried to befriend her, but she felt a strong dislike for him from the first time she had laid eyes upon him and mistaken him for Robotnik.

Inside the building was dark. She'd expected this, and had a torch in her bag which she used to light up the room. As she scanned the room, she heard the faint noise of someone crying.

"Er... hello?" She called out. The sobbing stopped, and a feline figure slowly walked into the light. She was wearing a red bandana, and hadlong brown hair and very baggy jeans. Her cheeks were streamed with tears as she cautiously approached the litte vixen cub.

"Who are you?" she asked. 

"I'm Tally Wolfheat.Who are you?"

The cat wiped a tear from her eye as she spoke. "My name is HC. I'm looking for my boyfriend, Ray. He's a flying squirrel."

Tally shook her head. "I'm real sorry, I haven't seen him. Is that why you're crying?"

"Yes. I think he may well have been robotiscised!" She sobbed. Tally flinched with a sudden rush of fear. She hated the mere idea of robotiscisation, something she had seen many times and could never grow used to. She put a sympathetic arm around HC, who looked up and smiled through her tears.

"He hates it when people cry, so I guess I shouldn't. Thanks, you're the first real friend I've found since I lost him." 

Tally grinned. Finally, she had a comrade.

*

HC, it turned out, was four years older than Tal. She had been brought up with Ray and his best friend Mighty, but at the time Robotnik took over they were separated. Her father had been the palace detective, but he too had disappeared, suspected to have been thrown into the Void. HC had gone to search for him, but when she returned,her mother and sister had also vanished. Finding herself entirely alone, she became a wanderer, on an endless search for her friends and family. 

The two girls became good friends, and HC hid in Robotropolis for the next few years, as Tal's one partner in crime. She often pressed the little vixen for information on her past, but Tal would never say a word about it. But one day, when Tally was eleven and she was fifteen, the cat disappeared. Suddenly Robotropolis became the lonely place it used to be, no longer a giant playground.

*

Angel island, Mobius year 3238:

HC arose that morning to the sound of somebody cleaning the windows. She groaned, and hid her head under the pillow. this was one disadvantage to moving in with Mighty and his friends.

Charmy the Bee was, on face value, a great guy. But his tragedy was that he was an absolute cleanliness freak, and could barely go for more than five minutes in a room with the slightest speck of dust. it was driving her to distraction, but mighty constantly swore that she would get used to it. Eventually.

Somebody began pounding at the door. She sighed, and yelled out at them.

"Just wait a while!" She threw on her jeans and t-shirt, and was pulling on her shoes when Knuckles, the echidna who considered himself guardian of this island, thundered in.

"So, are we goinng to find this kid then?" He asked her. HC pounded her forehead against her hand.

"Duh! Of course, I forgot about Tal." She exclaimed. Tying her bandanna around her head, she followed him out of the door. Mighty hugged her, and pointed to something off the edge of the island.

"The plan is this." He explained. "Charmy will airlift you and me, whilst Knux will glide down. Espio and Vector will guard the island. Agreed?"

There were no complaints, and the four set off. The journey to Robotropolis was long, but uneventful, and Charmy and Knuckles were exhausted once they reached the ugly grey city. HC carefully scanned the horizon, searching for any flash of orange fur, ears waiting for the sound of the child. But she was met only by silence.

Knuckles stood beside her, eyes squeezed shut in concentration. After a few moments, he turned to his companions and nodded.

"I can sense something... somebody young in that building," he pointed to a concrete warehouse to his left. "She's using some sort of computer..."

"That's Tal!" HC exclaimed. She ran towards the building, crying out the name of the little vixen. Mighty caught up with her and threw the door open, to see a young fox in a fighting stance. 

"Don't move a muscle." She ordered, flicking a strand of hair out of her eyes. Her gaze was stubbornly defensive, with an anger that the armadillo had only ever seen in Knuckles'. She strode forwards, one fist clenched as her other paw rested on her hips. "Now tell me, who are you, and why are you here? Were you sent by him?" this last word was spat out as if it left a bad taste in her mouth. Mighty began trying to explain himself, but the truth was that he had not expected such an attitude from one so young.

"Tal!" HC ran past mighty, picking the little vixen up and swinging her through the air. Charmy, who had followed her into the room, gasped.

"She... she's a..." He pointed at the girl, who followed his gesture and laughed.

"Yup, I'm a kitsune! Robotnik tried to slice one of my tails off, but I wouldn't let him. He's hoping that when I come of age I'll help him with..." She faded out, putting a paw over her mouth as if she had said too much. Knuckles took her from HC, and grinned down at her.

"Well, we've come to take you with us. How's that sound?"

"You can take me to the realm of darkness and I wouldn't care!" Tal giggled, taking an instant liking to the echidna. And so, Knuckles found himself landed with the role of adopted father.

Although it did not really seem fitting for his independent personality, he enjoyed looking after her. He'd never met any other echidnas, and so had never had kids, but he loved every moment he spent with the girl. Slowly, knuckles began to understand the partnership between Sonic and Tails.

The one thing that he could not comprehend was Tally's secrecy. She refused to give out any information on her life before her capture by Robotnik, and would fend off all enquiries with a nonchalant shrug.

"I don't think I need to talk about it," she would say. "Can I have a chilli dog?"

Knuckles would often laugh about her love of chilli dogs. At times she could be very like Sonic, but the echidna still managed to get on really well with her. But his curiosity often got the better of him. He knew that it was important to find out about her past.

*

"I really don't feel right about sneaking about like this." HC whispered to nobody in particular. An invisible hand gripped her shoulder.

"You'll get used to it."

Espio, HC and Knuckles had decided that enough was enough. Their insatiable interest in forbidden information had possessed them, and they were now stalking into Tally's room with one goal in mind: the computer.

Espio took the lead, and carefully prised the laptop from the vixen's paw, as she lay with one arm over it protectively. Slowly, he handed it to the cat and they left with the stealth and silence they had entered with.

HC switched it on once they were in the confines of her room. It stated up smoothly, until they reached their first problem. 

"A password?" Espio groaned. "I can't figure out a password!"

Knuckles ran his finger across the keys, his face blank as he studied the aura. Finally, he shook his head and turned to his comrades.

"I can't concentrate here. I'm going to the emerald chamber." And with that he was gone. HC was perplexed. "Emerald chamber?" Espio sighed and began to explain; telling all he knew of Angel Island and it's many mysteries.

*

Elsewhere on that same landmass, the guardian furrowed his brow in meditation, his thoughts focussed on the sleeping child. She lay across the master emerald, miraculously unharmed. That in itself was enough to tell him that there was something special about her. The magnificent gem acted as a window into her thoughts, and now all he needed to find was the password or her memories of the past.

Suddenly, a series of four numbers dawned on his ruminating mind. He smiled to himself, and typed them into the computer. A chime sounded out, letting him know that he had gained access. the vixen stirred in her sleep, mumbling to herself.

"Don't wanna study, Sirius." 

Knuckles looked down at her, instantly recognising the name. Wasn't he one of the Enchanter Kings? But how would the child know him? He opened a file entitled 'birthdays', and grew even more confused as he read the names.

"Cepheus, Orion, Archer, Sirius, Aquila, Delphinus,... Daddy?" Knuckles ignored the sensation of jealousy at the mention of Tal's real father. How had she known these 

sorcerors?

Clicking on another file, he discovered a series of photos, a group of wolves and foxes, seven men, holding a tiny cub. Knuckles zoomed in, and nodded as he realised who the baby was.

It was a kitsune vixen.

*

Between them, Knuckles and HC did much research into the mystery. They eventually discovered that Tally was the child of Andromedus Wolfheart, and had been taken to robotnik when the seven warlocks had been thrown into the void. The human had obviously been intending to utilise any powers she may have gained when she came of age, although it was unsure whether she would inherit any magic.

"That could have been bad! Then lard-gut would have had magic and technology on his side!" Charmy exclaimed. Knuckles nodded and carried on with his story.

"There was a prophecy made." He told them. "That the two kitsunes born in that year were vital for the destruction of Robotnik's rule. It did not say whether they would do anything important themselves, but they must be together before we can win."

"Who's the other kitsune?" HC asked. although she had been living with Knux for a few months now, she had yet to meet Sonic and Tails. Mighty began to tell her all about the other fox, leaving Knuckles lost in thought.

"I'm not so sure about taking her to Knothole." He said, after a while. "I mean, what if Sonic..."

"Are you worried that Sonic's going to get on well with her and he'll stop her from ever seeing you again?" Espio asked with a grin. He knew this could never happen, but could sense that Knuckles was worried about it. "Knux, the kid thinks of you as a father figure. No hedgehog is gonna change that!"

Knuckles returned the smirk. "I guess you're right. Who could prefer Sonic to me?!" 

*

"Where are we going?" Tally asked HC as she packed her few belongings into her backpack. HC shook her head with a smile.

"You know i'm not allowed to tell you, bud." Tal glared, her eyes hot with rage and fury. 

"You're not taking me back to Robotropolis are you?" She snapped. HC backed away defensively, not wanting to anger the young fox. She had seen Tal play-fighting with Espio and Mighty, and knew that the girl could be very vicious. A scar on Mighty's hand vouched for the sharpness of her teeth. But under all the rage, she looked scared. HC put a paw on the girl's shoulder and sighed.

"Listen, nobody is gonna make you go back there if you don't want to!"

Tal looked up at her. "You promise?"

"I promise."

Knuckles looked on at the scene from the doorway, smiling to himself. He had a feeling that tal was going to be okay in Knothole, although he could not quite put his finger on why he thought so. He rapped the door with his knuckles, and the two girls looked up.

"Ready to go, kid?" He asked the vixen. She nodded, and he picked her up and took her outside. He'd silently carried her to the border of the island, followed by HC, before she spoke.

"Knuckles?"

"Yeah?"

A look of fear crossed her face, and she clutched herself closer to him. "You aren't going to leave me alone, are you? I don't want to be all by myself again." She glanced pointedly at HC, who blushed in embarassment.

Knuckles put her on the ground, right on the edge of the island. She stumbled, and he grabbed her paws, constantly looking her in the eye.

"I'll never let you be alone in that place again, okay?" She nodded, and he clutched her close to him once again, gliding down to the Mobian soil. All the way down to the ground, she screamed at the top of her lungs, thrashing about like a cub possessed. Knuckles tried his hardest to keep his grip on her, but she somehow slipped out of his arms.

"Tal!" He yelled. She hurtled towards the ground at horrific speed, and he was helpless to aid her. Suddenly he was struck by inspiration. "Try and use your tails like helicopter blades!"

With much effort, she obeyed. But it only seemed to have the effect that she fell slower, fluttering towards the ground like an autmn leaf. A deep scream surrounded Knuckles, pounding through his skull. It took him a few seconds to realise that the scream was his own. 

Through some lucky instinct, however, something clicked inside Tal's mind. Her tails began to spin as if by their own accord, and she flew up to Knuckles, grasping his paws. He looked up at her, as she beamed with pride, twisting and dancing through the air.

"I did it! I can fly!" She giggled. "And I did it all by myself too!"

*

Sally re-read the message from Knuckles for the seventeenth time that morning. She had to admit that she very rarely found it easy to fully understand Knuckles when he was trying to be cryptic, but this was impossible!

"Take a look at this, Sonic." She ordered, thrusting the worn piece of paper into his paws. the hedgehog looked it over, his face a picture of puzzlement.

'Hello Knothole,' he read. 'I, Knuckles Echidna, have found something that you may be very interested in! I can't say much, but trust me, you'll all be surprised. Tails especially, that kid is gonna get the shock of his life! - Knux.'

"Oh yeah, nothing like being so vague nobody understands a word you're saying!" Sonic groaned. "Why can't Rad Red just say whatever it is?"

Sal thought about this for a moment. "I guess he just enjoys making peole wonder what he's on about."

Sonic laughed. "I just wonder what he's on!" He strode into the kitchen, and began preparing himself some food. As he did so, the door swung open and a little fox marched in.

"Hiyas Sonic, hiyas Aunt Sally!" He hugged the latter and flopped down into a chair. "What's up?"

Sal handed him the scrap of paper, and he slowly began to read, his lips forming the letters.He had never been to school, and what little tutoring he'd had was from Sally and the others.

"What's it all about?" He asked finally. Sally shrugged. 

"I have no idea, Tails. But it's obviously to do with you." Tails thought, then jumped out of his seat in excitement.

"Perhaps it's a present!" He grinned, and ran outside. Sally laughed at him. He always seemed so enthralled by everything!

As Tails ran through the village, he heard the sound of a familiar voice... or at least thought he did. It sounded exactly like Knuckles and another, younger voice, who were singing. A third voice was calling out to them, laughing. Tails was not sure exactly who they were, but they were way too close to Knothole for his liking.

He sneaked through the hedges, carefully so as not to get the intruder's attention, peering through at the them. Then he gasped in shock. It really was Knuckles!

The echidna was singing at the top of his lungs, his deep voice harmonizing with the higher voice, whose owner Tails could not see. Following behind was a female cat, who was laughing at the contrast between the two singers's voices. 

"You two sound so different!" She chuckled. Her giggles were contagious, and Tails could not help but snigger himself, alerting Knuckles's attention.

"Oh, it's you, Tails!" The echidna exclaimed, spying him beneath the hedge. "For a moment I thought you were a swat bot and I'd have to whack your head off!" He lightly punced Tails on the shoulder, gently so as not to harm the child. Tails pretended to punch him back in the chest, then heard a little giggle from behind his friend. He looked slightly to the left, and saw a little vixen poking her head under Knuckles's arm. She hopped in front and stood right opposite him.

"Hi! My name's Tally, what's yours?"

"I..." Tails suddenly felt wierd. his legs felt like jelly, and his brain no longer seemed to be in contact with his mouth, which was gaping open as he tried to speak. Knuckles, sensing his discomfort, made the introductions for him.

"Tally, HC, I'd like you to meet Tails. He's the youngest Freedom Fighter, a fellow kitsune, and one of the reasons we decided you should live here in knothole, Tal."

"Live here?" The two foxes asked in unison, Tails smiling coyly. This was turning out to be a rather interesting day!

"Yes, if that's okay with the people in charge." The cat, HC, spoke. Tails hurriedly assured her that it would be, and they walked on towards Sally Acorn's hut.

*

Sally was amazed by the fact that Tails was not the only kitsune, and very pleased by the instant state of friendship that the two foxes had assumed. She immediatly hit it off with HC, too, who shared her views on many things.

"Bunnie and I had always thought it would be nice to have more girls to speak to around here." She told her new friend. "Talking to Sonic about the coolness of speed and chilli dogs is not my idea of enlightening conversation!"

Tal seemed to have an interest in this 'unelightening conversation' though, and in fact had long conversations with all of Knothole's major Freedom Fighters. She listened in awe as Rotor explained exactly how her laptop worked (although much of it was too complicated for her young mind to comprehend), chattered in French with Antoine, and joked with Bunnie. As Knuckles left her without saying his farewells, he did feel a little sad. But he was sure he had done the right thing.

*

Tal loved Knothole, and all of it's inhabitants. During her time there, she got to know each and every one of them better. Sally even noticed that the young vulpines were beginning to develop a strong relationship, although sometimes Tally did not seem to notice Tails's true intentions. As far as she was concerned, they were just 'the bestest of best friends'.

But Tal did miss Knuckles and the Chaotix, so at one point she, Tails, Amy, HC and Sonic went on a holiday to Angel Island. Sal decided to stay behind to take care of the village, not willing to even temporarily give up her responsibilities. During the time she was away, she had to go on a solo mission to Robotropolis...

*

Amy peered over Sonic's shoulder as he gaped in shock. Sally had been captured, as the monitor screen clearly showed her struggling to get free. Robotnik's massive bulk filled the rest of the screen, guffawing like a mad man. Which was fitting, as he had kissed sanity goodbye a long while ago.

"If you come here, we may reach an agreement to free your princess." He smirked. Sonic looked to the others, who nodded solemnly.

"Give him whatever he wants, True Blue." Knuckles agreed. "Nothing's more important than friendship, is it?"

"What abou your emeralds?" 

"Take them and I'll..." Knuckles suddenly noticed that all eyes were upon him, and went a deeper shade of red. He dropped Sonic, whom he'd been grippin by the throat, and turned to the screen.

"Harm one fur on her body, and I'll see to it myself that you die." The hedgehog snarled at the human, his eyes showing a strong determination. He closed the laptop down and handed it back to Tal.

"C'mon," He grinned. "We've got some major-sized butt to kick."

*

The swat bot who grasped her made quite a good mirror, Sally thought. Although she could not stand the sight she saw, eyes black and haggard, fur scruffy and dirty. She felt as if she was finally defeated. 

It had been a few hours since Robotnik had spoken to Sonic, and there was still no sign of him. Her side was severely wounded, and her fur was matted with blood. She closed her eyes, wishing that Sonic, somebody would come to help her. If only she could get free...

"Hello party people!" The loud voice echoed through the hall with impeccable timing. Sally manged to slowly open one eye to gaze at the speaker, of whom she could already guess the identity.

"Well, lard-@$$, what do you want us to give you for Sal's freedom?" Sonic asked, too worried to think of any sarcastic comments. Robotnik laughed.

"The child." He brought his face close to Sonic's, his hot, eggy breath nearly suffocating the hedgehog. "Give me the child."

"Give you the what now?"

Robotnik pointed forward with one chubby finger, aimed right at Tally's stomach. Tails gasped and jumped in the way, as if the offending digit would shoot out at the vixen.

"You can't have her!" He yelled defiantly. Robotnik shrugged.

"Either way, Miles. Sonic's girlfriend, or your girlfriend." He chuckled as he refered to the two females, noticing Tails and Sonic blushing. Tally put her hands on her hips defiantly.

"I'm not his girlfriend!" she yelled. Poor Tails suddenly felt about two inches tall, and very depressed. "Can't you see that?"

She marched forwards, paws stretched out in an admittance of surrender. "I can't see Sal suffer, and I know that you want me alive for my powers, don't you? Take me."

"Tal?" Sally's voice was quiet, but urgent. "Why are you doing this?"

Tally sniffed, and it was obvious to those around her that there were tears in her eyes. "He... he'll kill you, Sally." 

The squirrel gazed at the child, and was about to protest when the swat bot dropped her to the ground.

"You are free to go. All but Tallista." He grinned, licking his lips in delight at the thought of the powers the vixen might gain. Tails looked back at tal as he and the others left.

"I.. I'll miss you."

"Yes." Tal's voice was totally devoid of emotion. "But don't worry yourself."

"I...I lo..."

"Don't say it!" She snapped. "I don't want to hear it!" She turned her back and Tails sighed.

"I'm really gonna miss you. And remember what I almost said."

Tal nodded, folding her arms and turning her back. "Goodbye, Tails."

Tails sniffed, they would never see each other again, yet she was this blank? "Goodbye." He finally sighed, and left. Tally watched him leave, made sure there was no way he could possibly hear her.

And fell to the floor in a flood of tears.


End file.
